1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting devices for vehicles and more particularly, lighting devices having at least one light housing with a light compartment, a transparent cover panel and a reflector arranged in the interior of the lighting device, and a plurality of optical surfaces on one side, where the cover panel has at least one smooth area which is free of optical surfaces for the reflector.
2. Related Art
Such a lighting device for vehicles is known from German Patent 198 23 106 A1. A light fixture having multiple light fixture compartments is used as the lighting device. The light fixture compartments are formed by a common light housing made of plastic and a cover panel that covers the light housing. The rear side of the light housing is formed by shell-shaped reflectors, each having one lamp. The cover panel consists of multiple integrally molded light panel sections in different colors. One light compartment has a red colored light panel section on which is mounted a sealing plate via ultrasonic welding. The reflector is formed by an intermediate panel that is supported by the sealing plate on the side facing the cover panel. On the side facing away from the cover panel, the intermediate panel has retro-reflective optical faces which are formed by triple prisms or cuboid corners, which totally reflect beams of light that pass through the cover panel from the outside and enter the intermediate panel. A section of the cover panel running adjacent to the intermediate panel has a smooth surface on the inside and outside. It is a disadvantage here that the reflector itself and the sealing plate are additional parts and require a separate a method, such as ultrasonic welding, for attaching the sealing plate to the cover panel.
In addition, a reflex reflector mounted on the cover panel in this manner may be undersirable for optical reasons, because the tie-down points of the sealing plate supporting the reflector are clearly visible from the outside.
The object of the invention is to provide a light fixture for motor vehicles in which no transparent intermediate panel arranged in an interior of the light fixture is necessary for a reflector, and nevertheless the reflex reflector can be arranged at a distance from the cover panel.
This object is achieved according to the present invention by the fact that the reflector, having the side occupied with the optical surfaces, is facing the cover panel, and on this side it has a reflective layer applied to the optical faces, so that after being reflected several times on this reflective layer, beams of light are reflected back in their incident direction. These optical surfaces provided with a reflective layer are similar to known reflectors, where the beams of light penetrate the reflector, and there is total reflection of the beams of light on the optical surfaces. The optical elements having the optical faces may be in the form of a triple prism or a cuboid corner, as with known reflectors. The reflector may be in the form of a planar surface that can be aligned accurately, so a high optical efficiency can be achieved. The principle of the reflector is based on direct reflection of beams of light, which pass through the cover panel from the outside, on the reflective layer of optical surfaces. With known reflectors whose optical surfaces are arranged on the backside of a transparent intermediate panel, there is degradation of the light because the beams of light are reflected by total reflection only after entering the intermediate panel.
The reflector may be made of a transparent material or an opaque material. Thus, the wall section having the reflector may be designed in one piece with the reflector or the cover shield. Therefore, it is advantageous if the reflective layer of the optical surfaces develops into a reflective layer of the reflector or a mirrored surface of the cover shield. This eliminates the need for application of an additional reflective layer to the optical surfaces of the reflector. The reflector may also be formed by a wall section of the light housing.
The wall section forming the reflector also functions as a cover shield when it runs next to the effective reflective surface of the reflector and is integrally molded on the front edge section of the reflector and extends to a front edge section of the light housing. Therefore, the edge adjacent to the effective reflective surface may be shaped as desired.
In the case of a reflector that marks the side of the vehicle, it is advantageous if it is integrated into a flashing light fixture and is arranged on a surface of a lateral wall section of the flashing light pointing toward the side of the vehicle. The reflective layer of the optical surfaces of the reflector and the reflective surface of the reflector can be applied together to a reflector if the lateral wall section is integrally molded in one piece on the reflector. The cover panel of the flashing light or an intermediate panel arranged in the interior of the flashing light may be colored yellow.
The lighting device may be formed by a headlight, a front flashing light, a rear light or a reflex reflector marking the side of the vehicle.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.